Box Score
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Mercyhurst University fought off a second half rally from hosting Slippery Rock University and held on for a 64-58 win Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action at Morrow Field House.
The Rock (5-15, 2-14 PSAC) trailed by 15 points on three separate occasions before mounting a furious comeback in the second half to tie the game for the first time with 3:36 to play. The Lakers (10-10, 8-8 PSAC) put together a 9-3 run over the final 3:36 to come away with the win.
Slippery Rock was led by
Danielle Smith with 16 points and seven rebounds, while
Jasmine Cooper added 13 points and
Sherita Stanley chipped in 12.
D'Asia Chambers added nine points off the bench and
Paris Thomas handed out eight assists to cap the top performers.
Slippery Rock connected on 23-of-53 attempts from the field for a 43.4 percent shooting efficiency. The Rock was 5-of-17 from beyond the 3-point arc (29.4 percent) and 7-of-12 at the free throw line (58.3 percent).
Mercyhurst was paced by Dana Banda with a game-high 23 points as the lone Laker to tally double figures. Katie Carbee and Megan Hoffman each added nine points and the team's leading scorer, Nikki Frederickson, was held to just seven points.
The Lakers shot 46.2 percent from the field (24-of-52), including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from long range, and were 66.7 percent at the free throw line (10-of-15). Slippery Rock posted a 36-29 advantage in total rebounds.
Mercyhurst never trailed in the game after opening with a 15-0 run over the first four minutes. The Rock didn't score their first points of the game until the 15:59 mark of the first half and Mercyhurst maintained a double-digit lead for much of the opening period.
Slippery Rock battled back with a 17-7 run to cut the deficit to five points at 24-19 with just over five minutes before the break, but the Lakers answered with a 6-0 run and took a 32-21 advantage into the intermission.
Mercyhurst pushed the lead out to 13 points early in the second half before Slippery Rock clawed back to within four, 34-30, with 16:46 to play.
Again, the Lakers answered with their own run, scoring 10 unanswered points to open up a 15 point lead, 45-30 with 11:50 to play.
From there, Slippery Rock took over the game, putting together a 25-10 run capped by eight consecutive points from Cooper to tie the game at 55-55 with 3:36 to play.
The Lakers scored the next five points to make it 60-55 and Slippery Rock could not recover down the stretch as the visitors held on for the 64-58 win.
Slippery Rock will hit the road for its next two games, traveling to Lock Haven Wednesday and Edinboro next Saturday before returning home to face California (Pa.) Wednesday, Feb. 15.
